How the New Real Estate Bill Will Be Helpful For NRIs

The Modi government has pledged to organize the face of realty sector and give it an industry status. In that move, the real estate bill has already been drafted and passed in the cabinet. The bill will soon be discussed in the parliament’s next session and will become a law after being signed by the President of India. The Union Cabinet has already approved of the amendments made in the Real Estate Bill, 2013 making way for greater activity in the real estate sector and hassle free work.

How the New Real Estate Bill Will Be Helpful For NRIs

But what is the crux of the bill? How will it benefit both developer and buyer? How will it help NRIs?

A Review of the Bill

The Real Estate Bill is significant as it aims to act as a protective cover for the consumers and establish regulatory bodies at the center and states for ethical and transparent business practices in the real estate sector. The move is seen as a fundamental plan to seek and ensure greater accountability towards consumers in this notorious real estate sector.

As per the approved bill, any real estate agent planning to sell any plot, apartment or any residential or commercial building/project will have to register with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The builder or real estate agent will have to furnish complete details of promoters, layout plans and complete documents with all the approvals along with it earmarked schedules for execution to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority making the plans completely transparent. Any delays on the submitted proposals can lead to fines or even a jail term for deliberately delayed projects.

Real Estate Bill and NRIs

With the approval of the real estate bill the NRI buyer will see the strengthening of his/her buyer’s rights. Earlier the MOUs between the builder and buyer were largely stacked in favor of the builders which had a legal team drafting agreements to avoid any legal obligations. While some builders used a delay clause others offered no such clause. The NRI had no way to approach a regulatory body online and the only way was to fight it out in an Indian court after filing a complaint against the builder.

Now with the Real Estate[Regulation and Development] body acting as a watchdog , the NRI can check the details and progress online and if a problem occurs can file a complaint with the Regulatory Authority without having to travel all the way back home. The bill requires the builder to keep 50% of the money in an escrow account only to be used for construction of that project. It boils down to the fact that the builder cannot give any financial excuse for the delay in the project. This helps in reducing the chances of delay. Another safe guard is that the builder cannot change the structure or alter plans without the consent of 2/3 of the members/ buyers.

A number of NRIs have been disgusted with the final product, a total change from the original plan and design. Now they can approach the Real Estate Regulatory Authority with their complaints, earlier there was no way out. This new bill will make investment in real estate easy for the NRI and the common man.